1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to packaging arrangements in which an ink cartridge is enclosed in a packaging member, a pressure inside the packaging member is less than a pressure outside the packaging member.
2. Description of Related Art
A known ink cartridge is configured to be mounted to and removed from a known inkjet recoding apparatus. The known ink cartridge has an ink chamber configured to store ink, and when the ink cartridge is mounted to the recording apparatus, ink is supplied from the ink chamber to the recording apparatus. The ink chamber is defined by a frame and a pair of films which are adhered to opposite faces of the frame.
In the known ink cartridge, ink is stored in the ink chamber, and the pressure inside the ink chamber is reduced to be less than the atmospheric pressure, which increases the degree of deaeration in the ink chamber, and thereby prevents generation of air bubbles in the ink chamber. Moreover, the ink cartridge is packaged in a package bag, and the pressure inside the package bag is reduced to be less than the pressure in the ink chamber, which prevents air from entering the ink chamber through the pair of films.
Nevertheless, in the known ink cartridge, when the ink cartridge is packaged in the package bag and the inside of the package bag is depressurized, a component of the ink cartridge may be deformed by the pressure differential between the pressure inside the package bag and the atmospheric pressure. Such deformation may adversely affect the operation of the ink cartridge.